YORK-BASED rail and plant firm Jarvis has delivered its best results for five years and said it was well placed to benefit from "unprecedented" spending on the UK rail network.

The firm, which employs 100 staff at its headquarters off Blossom Street and 300 engineers and on-site workers at depots in the city, was forced into selling off a raft of businesses four years ago to survive a financial crisis.

But now the firm has posted a profit of £11.1 million for the year to March 31, against a previous £21.7 million loss.

This represents its best performance since 2003, with the firm highlighting a recent Government White Paper and operator Network Rail's latest business plan as further grounds for optimism.

Network Rail forecasts some £30 billion in spending on the rail system between 2009 and 2014. There are significant opportunities in the UK rail market and the board believes we are well placed to capitalise on these," Jarvis said. Following the announcement yesterday shares in the group rose by 12 per cent.

The latest figures were boosted by a £6.5 million tax rebate in February, but executive chairman Steven Norris said the group had made "substantial progress" despite an uncertain start to the year for its plant operation.

"The business is in far better shape now than it has been for a long time," he said.

The firm's rail business is "extremely busy" on major projects - including work at Rugby on Network Rail's upgrade of the West Coast Main Line - and was also named as one of the operator's four renewals firms after a "beauty parade" of six rivals last year.

Earlier this month, The Press reported how the firm dismissed speculation about job losses for its staff in York.

In the face of reports that the company, which employs more than 4,000 staff across the UK, was preparing itself for sale, the Jarvis Board issued a statement to the Stock Exchange.